Thursday, March 9
New York, N.Y.
6 p.m.
DePaul University
10-23,3-17Big East
84
vs
89
Xavier
24-8,15-5Big East
1
2
F
DePaul
49
35
84
Xavier
40
49
89
DePaul Falls in Heartbreaker in Second Round of BIG EAST Tournament
3/9/2023 10:59:00 PM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
NEW YORK – The DePaul men's basketball 2022-23 season ended Thursday evening in a heartbreaking 89-84 loss. The Blue Demons were led by Umoja Gibson with 22 points and Nick Ongenda's 16.
DePaul shot a school BIG EAST Tournament record 61.4 percent from the floor (35-of-57) but Xavier relied on its 20 made free throws to overtake the Blue Demons. The Blue Demons were 8-of-16 from three-point marking the second-straight game the team did so.
HOW IT HAPPENED
DePaul opened the game shooting 9-of-10 for a 21-14 lead at the under 12 media timeout. The Blue Demons controlled the first half, pushing their lead to as large as 13, 39-26, with six minutes left in the play. Gibson had 13 first half points to help DePaul to a nine-point, 49-40, halftime lead.
DePaul continued to control the game through a majority of the second half before Xavier had a 5-0 run before the under 16 media timeout that brough the game within eight points. As Gibson fell into foul trouble, Xavier took advantage to keep the game tight. The Musketeers got within two on a three-pointer at six minutes, 73-71. Gibson answered on a three but the Blue Demons answers fell short as Xavier ended the game on a 14-2 run.
OF NOTE
DePaul shot a school BIG EAST Tournament record 61.4 percent from the floor (35-of-57) but Xavier relied on its 20 made free throws to overtake the Blue Demons. The Blue Demons were 8-of-16 from three-point marking the second-straight game the team did so.
HOW IT HAPPENED
DePaul opened the game shooting 9-of-10 for a 21-14 lead at the under 12 media timeout. The Blue Demons controlled the first half, pushing their lead to as large as 13, 39-26, with six minutes left in the play. Gibson had 13 first half points to help DePaul to a nine-point, 49-40, halftime lead.
DePaul continued to control the game through a majority of the second half before Xavier had a 5-0 run before the under 16 media timeout that brough the game within eight points. As Gibson fell into foul trouble, Xavier took advantage to keep the game tight. The Musketeers got within two on a three-pointer at six minutes, 73-71. Gibson answered on a three but the Blue Demons answers fell short as Xavier ended the game on a 14-2 run.
OF NOTE
- Tony Stubblefield is the only coach in DePaul men's basketball history to win a BIG EAST tournament game in their first two seasons.
- DePaul scored a school BIG EAST Tournament record 84 points.
- Nick Ongenda ends the season with 135 blocks in his career, fourth all-time at DePaul.
- Gibson concludes his accomplished Division 1 with 428 career three-pointers, ranking 15th all-time in Division 1 basketball.
- Ongenda ended his season on a five-game streak of 10 or more points.
- Gibson's 22 points rank as the fifth most all-time in DePaul BIG EAST Tournament games.
- DePaul's 61.4 field goal percentage is the highest since 2016.
Team Stats
DePaul
XU
FG%
.614
.492
3FG%
.500
.450
FT%
.857
.741
RB
27
28
TO
14
8
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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